Farewell to a Comrade: The Last Goodbye
by Lady Scarlett Orihime
Summary: Jet, Faye, Ein, and Ed all remenisce on Spike's life at his funeral.RIP, Space Cowboy...


Farewell to a Comrade: The Last Goodbye

Jet landed the Bebop, not too far from the cathedral. It had took a while for him and Faye to track down Edward, but they finally did, after a week since the tragic news. Edward had cried on Jet's shoulders for two days straight. She really looked up to Spike and already she missed her friend. Faye had sat solemnly, looking out the window onto Bebop's deck. Even though the guy got on her nerves, she never wanted him to die. Ein sat whining in a corner. Jet just tried to hold everything together, helping the others cope, and arranging Spike's funeral. But I think the news of Spike's death hit him the most. Spike was like a son to him... and when a father loses a child...

Everyone marched from the Bebop, this sunny morning, wearing their best. Ed carried Ein, leading the group through the courtyard. Faye walked behind her and Jet followed Faye. The cathedral loomed tall, casting a shadow over our mourning cowboys, as they walked closer towards the huge double doors. In the near empty church, his body lays peacefully in a white coffin, surrounded by red roses and candles. Again, Faye begins to cry. Ein whimpers. Edward and Jet is silent, as they take their seats.

As, the priest began the service, Jet began to grins. "What's the funny?" asked Edward, curious. "Huh?" asked Jet, breaking out of his thoughts, "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking... was Spike catholic?" "Edward doesn't think so..." sang Ed. "Shh!" grinned Faye, "Before someone hears and kick us all out... including Spike." "You know," said Jet, "If Spike was alive, he wouldn't care if he got kicked from a church. He never care about things like that." "Did he care about anything?" sighed Faye. "As a matter of fact," frowned Jet, "He did. He cared about us, as well as a lot of things. If you ask me, Spike had the whole damn universe on his shoulders."

"I keep remembering the times he was around." said Faye, "We were always arguing. I wish things could have been different." "No.", waved Jet, "I think he enjoyed the arguments." "Remember the time, Jet-person and Spike-person went looking for a Beta deck?" smiled Edward. "Oh, I remember!", said Jet, "We nearly killed ourselves then, and came back with the wrong machine! I thought it was the worst day of my life!" "I've got one." smiled Faye, "I remember when Spike use to come up with the crazy plans? Like that one time he asked me to break into a weather station to make it rain." "Yeah," laughed Jet, "That was Spike, always doing things on the edge." "How about the first time Ed hacked into Bebop?" giggled Ed, "Spike thought the computer had an interactive channel." "Yeah," scoffed Faye, "But it was a real-time hack. Even I could have told him that." "Yeah, right." huffed Jet.

"Or the time Bebop was attacked by the spoooo-ky alien!" grinned Ed. "You mean that alien bacteria?" asked Jet. "Spike had left a lobster in the fridge for a whole year." frowned Faye, "That fridge was crawling with alien creatures!" "Yeah," said Jet, "How did we ever get out of that one?" Ein grumbled. "Don't forget when Spike first met that mutt." said Faye, pointing at Ein. "Yeah," grinned Jet, "I remember him telling me about that. Said he couldn't stand animals! But he did his best to save Ein, anyway. Didn't he, boy?" Ein whimpered.

"And the time Spike-person ate a mushroom!" smiled Ed, "He was hallucinating that the stairs were endless! And that a bullfrog was trying to tell him that the stairs lead to heaven! Eeh-heh, heh, heh!" "You know, Ed..." frowned Faye, "Everyone had a hallucination that day... except for you! Why is that!" "It's all in the past!" waved Ed. "Edward!" yelled Faye. "Ahem!" coughed the priest. "Sorry, father, continue." apologized Jet.

After a while, Faye was the one to break the silence. "He was a great guy," she said, "Spike was. But he had to go and get himself killed... that moron." "Lunkhead." grunted Jet. "Lunkhead, lunkhead, lunkhead!" laughed Edward. "Shh!" frowned Jet, "Keep it down." They sat quietly, until Faye began to cry. "He's just so stupid!" she sobbed, "This is all so stupid! What's the point?" "The point is," began Jet, "That Spike was dead inside. He had a lot a demons to deal with. And he dealt with them and came to terms with himself. Even though he's dead, I am happy he is finally able to have peace. He was like a corpse, when he was alive, his past always ahead of him. But now... he's finally free." "But, he didn't have to leave us!" she sobbed, "WE could have been his peace or at least help him!"

"Faye," sighed Jet, "It isn't that simple. We all know that Spike does things his own way. And for him, this was the only way for him to be free. He was stubborn like that. Besides, I doubt we could have carried the weight that he was carrying." "I know..." frowned Faye, "But still... I wish he would have given us a chance." "I think he did." shrugged Jet, "He stayed with us for a very long while, even though it doesn't seem so. He was a slug at times, rushing into things without thinking, always getting into some type of trouble. But most of the time, he was a great guy that would have your back, no matter what." "Edward misses Spike-person." sniffed Ed. "Yeah," said Jet, "We all do. The universe really did lose a great cowboy." "Ai-yah." nodded Ed.

One by one, each of the crew came to the front of the cathedral to say good-bye to their fallen comrade. Ed leaned in, to give Spike a kiss on the cheek. Ein whimpered, squirming in Ed's arms, ears down. Ed walked away, tears in her eyes, with Ein. Faye placed a single red rose next to Spike and smoothed down his hair. "You moron." she whispered. She began to cry again and rushed away from the casket. Jet stood there for a while, looking into Spike's peaceful face. "Well," he finally said, his deep voice echoing through the large cathedral, "I guess it time to say good-bye. You always got on my nerves, complaining about the food and rushing into things... getting into trouble and disappearing on me on a whim! But you added spice to my life... and a few ulcers, sure! But spice, nonetheless. Thank you, Spike." He patted Spike's shoulder and headed towards the cathedral doors, the girls leading the way.

Sunshine poured over the grieving friends, as blue skies exploded over head. "Hardly a cloud in the sky." grinned Jet, "It is a beautiful day." "Yes," said Faye, "It really is beautiful." Two white doves landed in the courtyard, only for a moment, then they flew away. "Spike's with Julia now." said Edward. "We'll meet up with them," sighed Jet, watching the birds fly away, "Someday..."


End file.
